it is still out of control right now. just for some perspective. that does it for us tonight, we'll see you again tomorrow night from our undisclosed location on the road that you probably are already figuring out in your mind. good it thursday morning. right now on "first look". the incredible 911 call between police and the hero that prevented the georgia school shooting. unspeakable images coming from syria as the world demands to know if chemical weapons were used. the girlfriend of the gunned down australian baseball player speaks out. plus, army private bradley manning gets 35 years, but may only serve seven. playstation 4 versus xbox 1. prepare for battle. and just another day at the beach in russia. >> good morning. i'm mara schiavocampo. disturbing images out of syria of a suspected deadly gas attack. they're difficult to watch, but syrian rebels say they are important to show.

it's alleged evidence of what may be the worst chemical weapons attack anywhere in the world in more than 20 years. the syrian government denies using the chemical weapons and it's something president obama warned against a year ago. >> we have communicated in no uncertain terms what every player in the region that that is a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons. >> yusef gamal al-din is live with the latest. >> reporter: the world is still trying to get its head around the tragic events in damascus, in syria, are we understand from various sourgs sources that a attack may have taken place. the shocking footage that we have seen does indicate that's

the case. that's what experts have told us, that the symptoms, the casualties are consistent with a chemical weapons attack. but again, both sides are blaming each other. rebels are pointing to the government. the government is pointing to the rebels. and supporters of the two sides are backing each other. so russia and iran are both giving their backing to the syrian government while the united states and the european union and others hold the syrian government to account. it's a complex situation. the problem is that despite an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council, little has come out of that, the u.n. inspectors are still in damascus and have not visited the site of the attacks. the other development we're following is the imminent release of the former president mubarak. that after the judge cleared him of the last outstanding charge. but the military says he will be under house arrest clearly

sensing that an actual release would only fuel political tensions. >> thanks so much. this morning, we have new details about the gunman who threatened an atlanta area school this year. the remarkable composure of the dramatic school bookkeeper as shots are fired. >> i'm in the front office. oh, he just went outside and started shooting. oh, can i run? >> can you get somewhere safe? >> yeah. i gotta go. no, he's going to see me running and he's coming back. >> she thought about running but stayed and became hill's go-between with the police. within minutes, hill tells tough he should have just gone to the metal hospital instead of doing this. then he asks tuft to get on the income and tell the kids he's sorry. >> everybody, this is still a continuous lockdown.

the gunman wants to let everybody knows he's sorry. he does not want to harm anybody. everybody stay in place. >> after that, hill becomes downright obedient and just before the police come in, tough tells the gunman she loves him. >> it's going to be all right, sweetie. i just want to let you know that i love you, okay, and i'm proud of you. that's a good thing you're giving up. we all go through something in life. >> at that point, hill offers to come out with his hands up. instead, the police enter. listen to tuff's reaction as the gunman is taken away. >> hello? >> yes? >> i'm going to tell you something, baby. i've never been so scared in all the days of my life. >> but you did great. >> oh, jesus. >> you did great. >> oh, god. >> amazing. that's nbc's matt pearl reporting.

turning now to some 51 large wildfires burning out west, the u.s. forest service has revealed that it's down to its final $50 million which is only enough to fight fires for a few days. now the agency is diverting $600 million to keep firefighters on the ground. it's the sixth time funds have been moved since 2002. closing arguments are set to begin in the ft. hood rampage trial. army major nadal hasan rested his case tuesday without calling any witnesses. representing himself in court, the army psychiatrist said american soldiers deploying overseas to, quote, engage in a legal war provoked the killing that killed 13 people and wounded others. jury deliberations could begin as soon as today. good news this morning for vice president biden's son. beau biden is expected to leave the hospital today after what's described as a, quote, successful procedure. the 44-year-old delaware

attorney general has been at md houston's cancer center since earlier this week. vice president biden says his son is in great shape and will consult with doctors in the coming weeks. time for your first look at this morning's scrambled politics. bob filner has reached a tent i have deal involving a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, but no details were released. the city attorney says it will be presented to the city council during a closed session on friday. congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is starting a campaign style trip to drum up support in three red states. she'll make appearances in arizona, texas and georgia. the sentencing of private bradley manning prompted this tweet of lady gaga. the news is devastating. if you're own complaint speak up about injustice, who will. the last batch of nixon's oval office tapes are available at the nixon library.

in 1973 after key aides were forced to resign, nixon spoke on the phone to the chief of staff. >> it's a tough thing, bob, but you and for john, the rest, but damn it, i'm never discussing it again. >> a new poll found that louisiana republicans appear confused about the aftermath of hurricane katrina which was in 2005. the poll asked who do you think was more responsible for the poor response. george w. bush or barack obama. 28% of the republicans said former president george w. bush who was in office at the time. but 29%, 1% more, said that president obama was responsible even notice he didn't take office for four more years. and 44% said they aren't sure who to blame. well, dick cheney's daughter, liz, who is running for senate in wyoming, had to pay $220 fine for making a fault statement on an application for a fishing license about how long she lived in the state.

she says it was all a misunderstanding. and a new jersey corn maze gets political to draw attention. a farmer created a corn maze showing images of chris christie and barbara quinn, both candidate for governor. and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. it's been five decades since martin luther king jr. gave his legendary speech. starting this week, people from all over will gather to celebrate. melissa mollet is in washington with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. nice to see you. that's right, this really has been in the works for years. now the count on is on dozens of events planned for this weekend and into next week here in washington. two major marches rallied as crews continued to prepare the area by the lincoln memorial. that's where hundreds of thousands gathered for the march

50 years ago. renovations to the mlk memorial done just in time for the festivities. the president is set to honor the anniversary on the very steps where he stood in 1963. the main commemoration will take place this saturday. tens of thousands of people expected to travel from all over the country to rally at the lincoln memorial. >> melissa mollett in washington, thanks very much for that. and now for our weather forecast. >> i find it interesting that we ran out of money for the fires. >> a lot of fires burning. >> but it hasn't especially been all that bad? i was looking up the stats. we have 51 fires burning across the country right now. so it's very active. this is the peak of the fire season and we do have red flag warnings. 14 fires alone with uncontained fires, burning in idaho. but here are the stats that blew

my mind when i heard we ran out of money, year to date, we've only had half the acreage burned at last year at this point. of course 2010 wasn't that bad, but it hasn't been that horrible of a fire season yet. as far as the forecast goes, it continues to be very hot out there in the middle of the country and all through the rockies. that's where the drought is the worst. in the eastern half of the country, we'll watch some of these showers and storms heading your way. some across iowa and nebraska right now. and later this afternoon and this evening, a few storms in the east. it won't be widespread, it will be hit and miss. kind of a typical sum are day. warm, a little more humid and a pew afterno few afternoon storms. a major u.s. company dropping thousands of spouses from their health care plans. plus he was shot and killed while visiting his girlfriend. now she is speaking out. when you realize you need to switch to verizon,

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welcome back. now to other stories making news this morning. bradley manning, the soldier who leaked thousands of secret government documents was sentenced to 35 years in prison on wednesday. manning's lawyer has other plans, saying the army private could be out in as little as seven years and may seek a presidential pardon. the girlfriend of the australian baseball player shot dead in oklahoma said finding out about his death was the most shocking thing she ever experienced and that her heart, quote, just broke right there. when asked about the three teens suspected of the murder, she said she never wants to hear of them again. >> they have no remorse and no compassion and no motive, so i have no time. they are not worth -- worth my effort. another bizarre twist in the hannah anderson kidnapping case. her family has denied reports that hannah's alleged abductor could have been her biological father. this after the family's now deceased james dimaggio requested dna samples.

hannah's mother did not meet dimaggio until she was six months pregnant with hannah. and now for business, we turn to courtney reagan. >> good morning. futures are higher after stocks fell wednesday. with minutes from the last fed meeting showing the central bank is ready to start to pull back on stimulus measures, but it just won't say when. the dow closed at a two month low and has had its worst six day losing streak since may of 20 stwefl. u.p.s. will cut health benefits for working spouses of thousands of employees next year. the change impacts 15,000 who can get health care through their jobs. yahoo! has topped google in the number of people visiting its websites and that's the first time google hasn't been top dog in five years. the boost comes after yahoo! bought tumblr, which i assume is something to do with the

numbers. back to you. >> thanks so much. straight ahead, major milestones on the diamond. all your sports highlights are next. tmare! the house caught fire and we were out on the streets. [ whispering ] shhh. it's only a dream. and we have home insurance. but if we made a claim, our rate would go up... [ whispering ] shhh. you did it right. you have allstate claim rate guard so your rates won't go up just because of a claim. [ whispering ] are we still in a dream? no, you're in an allstate commercial. so get allstate home insurance with claim rate guard... [ whispering ] goodnight. there are so many people in our bedroom. [ dennis ] talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] ...and let the good life in.

and now let's get the latest in sports from my colleague, betty nguyen. >> good morning, mara. first of up, a historic moment in baseball. ichiro suzuki becomes the third person in baseball history to reach 4,000 hits. he smacked that line drive in the yankees dugout. they went wild.

the yanks beat the blue jays 4-2. beat rose and ty cobb are the only other players to achieve this feat. suzuki's 4,000 hits are a combination of his playing time in japan and his playing in the majors. he has 2,722 hits in the u.s. and he is gunning for 3,000. i have a feeling that he will get it. and you cannot keep this tiger out of the game. after straining his groin, hip and abdominal area tuesday, miguel cabrera was down but not out. he steals. the tigers win over the minnesota twins with a double and clearing the bases. tigers took the twins, 7-2. this hurts to watch. check it out. oh! max of the houston astros gets beamed in the fast by rangers pitcher right here. watch it, watch it, right there.

a 96-mile-per-hour throw. stassi gets hit near the left check and was taken to the hospital where he is staying overnight. how about a magic trick for you? kansas city pitcher jeremy guthrie will make the ball disappear. where did it go? the throw actually goes into the sign behind home plate, leaving the ref a little dumbfounded. here is the best part, though. the same thing happened to the same two teams the night before. >> they need to close that space. >> or you think they would not where to look, right? maria sharapova has withdrawn from the u.s. open due to a shoulder injury. in basketball, los angeles clippers guard chris paul was elected president of the national basketball players association. congrats. and king james is playing dress up, channeling his inner

dr. j. he says dr. j is making a comeback. james says his top three nba players of all time are, of course, michael jordan, larry bird and julius irving, as you can imagine. so this is just flipping crazy. can you believe that? this cheerleader definitely has the spirit and is ready for basketball season. a washington state university spirit squad slammed this cool half-court shot when they were practicing. definitely one to flip out about. they need that guy on the court playing ball. >> thanks so much, betty. time for our first look at politics. i'm joined by bob franken. good morning. >> good morning. politics, flip-flops. it goes together. >> segues are endless. so i do want to start with something really serious which

is the situation this syria. in an editorial, the "washington post" is saying if it turns out chemical weapons were used, the white house should retaliate directly against syrian forces and protect civilians with a no-fly zone. is this terrible attack going to be the impetus for significant u.s. involvement? >> the president had said it was. he probably regrets making the comment about the red line. the problem with the no-fly zone is that syria has a very sophisticated air defense system and there could be some problems, some americans yet to be shot out of the sky. >> the white house seems to have very little influence abroad. russia ignored them on snowden, egypt ignored them with military crackdown, and now syria has violated the red line. does that speak to washington's waning global influence? >> the republicans would certainly say so. my theory is that the reason that the president and his family got another dog is because of that old saying if you want a friend in washington, get a dog. and he has very few friends

these days. >> wednesday, turning to russia, wednesday a reporter was kicked off tv for criticizing their anti-gay laws. this issue goes on and on. is this going to present a significant problem when it comes to the winter olympics in russia next year? >> i certainly hope so. i think the people who stand for gay rights have to make sure that every opportunity they have they demonstrate their displeasure with the russians. so it's going to an interesting spec ke spectacle next year. fwl thanks very much. next up is first buzz oig. only aveeno daily moisturizing lotion has an active naturals oat formula that creates a moisture reserve so skin can replenish itself. aveeno® naturally beautiful results.

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time for "first buzz". i'm joined by betty and bill. so really interesting story in the "new york times". they're reporting that there is an infant in india that they believe may be suffering from spontaneous human combustion. >> is that even possible? >> scientists are skeptical about it. some believe it is, some believe it's not. but this infant has reportedly burst into flames a number of times only three months old. so now doctors are evaluating him. >> i don't understand. >> i don't know if it's a matter body chemistry or -- the parents are denying any foul play. >> and the baby is still alive? >> the baby is still alive. they keep a bucket of water next to him. apparently it's happened a number of times. a real medical mystery. and betty, you have not so much a mystery, but -- >> it was a mystery to some. you have got to see this.

a russian military will hover craft, just imagine laying on the beach and then this thing shows up. that is frightening. it's 550 tons. and the russian defense ministry says it was just docking at the beach, this is a normal event. that doesn't look normal to me. but what they're saying is this beach should not have been -- public should not have been allowed on to this beach. so it's the public's fault all of a sudden. >> the russians are like that's supposed to happen? >> supposed to. >> and bill, you have a sinkhole. >> i have something i promise you you you've never seen before. you'll think it's a special effects type thing. watch this sinkhole in louisiana swallow -- it just swallows these trees while the other ones are left totally alone. it just keeps going. and the water, you can see the water is going down into the hole, too. all of a sudden just completely gone. >> i always wonder where is the sinkhole?

like how far does it go down and where does it go to? >> just sucked completely under. >> so scary. like sci-fi. thanks, guys. "way too early" starts right now. a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus. >> syrian rebels say that red line has been crossed in a big way. some gruesome news and images unfortunately from a massive attack in syria. meanwhile in georgia a school employee hailed as a hero as she helped police deal successfully with a man armed with an ak-47. and yesterday we showed you a great catch. last night his career almost ended in a split second. we'll let you know how he's doing on this thursday edition of "way too early".

good morning, everybody. it's august 22. a lot of really important stuff today. but the history of the high five. re learned about it yesterday on "morning joe". so i want to know what the high five came from. we'll have that for you in the cooler. but as i said, some somber and important things to get to this morning beginning in syria where there are claims of a massive chemical attack that the world has not seen since 1988. i want to tell you the scene is shocking. the images are difficult to watch. syrian rebels are saying hundreds and possibly thousands are dead after the alleged chemical attack near damascus. according to an nbc news source, the assault lasted roughly two hours as